Profits at China's major industrial companies returned to growth in the first eight months of the year, underpinned by the performance of the equipment manufacturing sector, official data showed on Saturday.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's industrial enterprises with an annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) saw their total profits increase 0.9 percent year-on-year to 4.69 trillion yuan ($657.43 billion) in the first eight months of 2025, despite registering a 1.7 percent decline in the first seven months. 

In August, profits at major industrial enterprises jumped 20.4 percent from a year earlier. This was compared with a 1.5 percent fall in July. 

NBS statistician Yu Weining said the rebound in industrial profits was mainly driven by the robust performance of equipment manufacturing, and was a result of the government's efforts to implement effective macroeconomic policies, build a unified national market and a low comparison base over the previous year. 

However, Yu warned of challenges and pressures from a complex external environment and still-weak domestic demand. 

Yu stressed the need to further expand domestic demand, deepen the development of a unified national market, regulate market competition, and create more favorable conditions for the sustained recovery of industrial enterprises' profits. 

NBS data showed that in the first eight months, profits recorded by manufacturing companies rose by 7.4 percent year-on-year, and profits registered by industrial firms that offer supplies of electricity, heat, gas and water grew by 9.4 percent. Meanwhile, profits recorded by mining firms shrank 30.6 percent. 

According to a breakdown of the NBS data, State-owned firms saw earnings dip 1.7 percent year-on-year in the first eight months. Foreign firms booked a 0.9 percent rise, while private-sector companies recorded a 3.3 percent growth. 

Notably, profits at equipment manufacturing industries surged 7.2 percent in the first eight months, driving overall industrial profit growth to accelerate by 2.5 percentage points.